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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26351956">Like Real People</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Planteria/pseuds/Planteria'>Planteria</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bisexual Disaster Sokka (Avatar), Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Bisexual Zuko (Avatar), Death in Childbirth, Gay Zuko (Avatar), Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Infertility, M/M, Minor Character Death, Miscarriage, Period-Typical Homophobia, Post-Canon, Post-Episode: s03e14-15 The Boiling Rock, Romantic Soulmates, Sokka (Avatar) is a Good Parent, Sokka (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmate-Identifying Timers, Soulmates, Stillbirth, Zuko (Avatar) is a Good Parent, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, but like the gaang grows up and are adults in this, the gaang as adults, this is lowkey angsty ngl, well for part of it</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:53:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>14,000</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26351956</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Planteria/pseuds/Planteria</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Two-hundred fifty-seven days, two hours, and two minutes. The numbers had been inscribed on Sokka’s wrist for as long as he could remember.<br/>Everyone was born with a clock tattooed on their wrist. The clock started the moment you met your soulmate, counting down to the moment you realized why they are your soulmate.<br/>Sokka’s clock started when he took a foot to the face and landed in a snow drift.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Past Sokka/Suki (Avatar) - Relationship, Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), background Mai/Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>707</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Like Real People</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hi y'all, this took me too long to write but i hope you enjoy it. I listened to mostly Hozier while writing this so <i>obviously</i> the title of this work comes from the song <a href="https://youtu.be/yrleydRwWms">"Like Real People Do"</a> and that's also a forewarning that this is kinda angsty ngl, but it's like, "adult life is terrible" kinda angsty<br/>forewarning, I like to put links to memes/videos in my stories. please open them, they're not viruses </p><p>CW: there's a full discussion about miscarriage and stillbirths, then a character dies <i>in</i> child birth, then there's talk of homophobia.<br/>if you wanna skip that stuff stop reading at "But the world was better now." and continue at the end of that scene (marked with a line across the screen), from that point, the death of a certain character will be continuously mentioned so be safe!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Two-hundred fifty-seven days, two hours, and two minutes. As a child, Sokka had memorized the numbers, running his fingers over the raised edges every night before falling asleep. Relatively, it was a short amount of time. Most people in the Southern Water Tribe had years written across their wrists, meeting their soulmates as toddlers and growing up with them. But for some reason, he and Katara were </span>
  <a href="https://fish-inside-jellyfish.tumblr.com/post/187652149262/rip-to-being-interpreted-but-im-different">
    <span>different.</span>
  </a>
  <span> They both had less than a year with their soulmates before they’d know why they had been put together. Mom had told him that more than likely it would be a beautiful woman from the Northern tribe. Maybe even a waterbender like Katara. He’d always wrinkled his nose at that suggestion. Hopefully, his soulmate was </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing</span>
  </em>
  <span> like Katara. Mom would laugh at the face he made and said that it was also possible that maybe his or Katara’s soulmate was from the Earth Kingdom. Sokka had always thought that would be pretty cool, then he could teach her all about how to hunt and fish and build homes out of snow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was so excited to meet his soulmate. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But then he took a foot to the face and landed in a pile of snow. Turned out, his soulmate was a hotheaded firebender with a weird ponytail and a scar covering half of his face. Oh! Sokka’s soulmate also happened to be a </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Not that it was necessarily an issue; he, personally, did </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> care that his soulmate was a guy. It was just that everyone back home would. He had known it was a possibility growing up, but he had learned early on that it wasn’t something you were supposed to talk about. He remembered the way people spoke about the spinsters who lived together. Yes, it </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> natural and the spirits were never </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong,</span>
  </em>
  <span> but no one should know. No one really spoke about soulmates in general. Sure, some people kept their wrists on display, subtly bragging about their pairing. But most covered theirs and usually refused to mention it to anyone outside the family.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But at the age of fifteen, bruised physically and egotistically, he got the feeling that maybe the spirits made mistakes. Maybe they had started his clock too early. Maybe this was all just a load of seal-penguin shit. His stomach churned as he had loaded up the canoe to go after the Fire Navy Ship. Who cares if his supposed soulmate happened to be on it. He had known Aang for a day—and, frankly, wasn’t sure on the validity of the whole Avatar-thing—but knew that he had to save him from the Fire Nation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was much later that he discovered that his soulmate happened to also be the Prince of the Fire Nation, not just the commander of one of their ships. As if it could get any worse. He’d spent so much of his childhood dreaming of the day he’d meet them and they’d get married and have a family together. As long as the war was raging on and as far as Sokka was concerned, that was never going to happen. The spirits</span>
  <em>
    <span> had</span>
  </em>
  <span> made a mistake. And unfortunately, running into his homicidal soulmate turned into a recurring problem for him and his friends; currently, however, his main problem was the fact that he was sliding off of a gondola and possibly about to fall into a boiling lake. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adults had told him that your life flashed before your eyes in near death experiences. He hadn’t believed them, having almost died </span>
  <em>
    <span>a lot</span>
  </em>
  <span> in the past eight months and never had it happen. But there he was, remembering those nights tucked into his mother’s lap and all the resentment he had harbored towards the spirits. </span>
  <em>
    <span>This is really it, huh? </span>
  </em>
  <span>he thought to himself, glancing at the water below. There was nothing for his fingers to catch on. The metal was too tough for his sword to be able to penetrate. His dad probably wouldn’t know to try and catch him before it was too late. He could try to catch the side of the roof. Or maybe the window? Which would be easier to hold on to? The metal was rapidly warming as they hung, suspended over boiling water. There was a hand on his wrist. Zuko. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>More panic than Sokka had ever seen filled Zuko’s eyes. And his brain became hyper-focused on those golden eyes, the hands on his arms, and the nails digging into his skin. </span>
  <em>
    <span>My clock just ran out</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he thought, not needing to see his wrist for confirmation. Given the circumstances, this revelation was incredibly unhelpful. He’d much rather be back on the roof of the gondola to have it, than hanging on to his soulmate like his life depended on it… because it </span>
  <em>
    <span>did.</span>
  </em>
  <span> But staring at Zuko, Sokka felt like his heart forgot to beat and his lungs forgot to breathe. Gran-Gran had always told him that the spirits never made mistakes, that finding your soulmate was a magical moment and—</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re about to cut the line!” Right, he was about to die within the next few minutes. If he made it out of this alive, he’d take time to think about all of this later. </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>“Hey, Zuko, can we talk?” Sokka asked. Zuko had his back turned to him, concentrating on steering the airship and visibly tensing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, sure,” he answered, pulling some lever and pressing some button for some reason.  Sokka would have to ask him later </span>
  <em>
    <span>why</span>
  </em>
  <span> he knew how to operate one of these… and to teach him how to do it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Zuko turned around, Sokka could see the numbers on his left wrist. A string of zeros. Sokka had noticed them on the balloon ride over to the Boiling Rock. He had just been a bit… preoccupied with thinking through how to break his dad out of prison to have that conversation. Now they were turning a gray-green color, fading into Zuko’s skin. He supposed it had been a few days. </span>
  <em>
    <span>How long were we in there for? Two days? Three? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Zuko was staring at him expectantly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka shifted his weight on his feet and cleared his throat. This had been </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> idea to talk about this. He couldn’t back out now. Somehow, he felt more nervous now than he had trying to describe the invasion plan. Sighing, he slid the metal cuff of his arm, seeing his clock for the first time since breaking into the prison. Their timers matched, Sokka’s still black and unfaded. </span>
</p><p><span>“Oh,” Zuko said, dropping his gaze from the numbers to his feet. And so the two of them stood there awkwardly. In his defense, Sokka </span><em><span>had </span></em><span>thought</span> <span>of what he wanted to say. He had just </span><em><span>forgotten</span></em><span> it. Maybe he just needed to get this done and over with. </span></p><p>
  <span>“We should probably talk about this, huh?” Sokka said, like an absolute genius. Fantastic way to start this conversation. Not stating the obvious at all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Zuko replied, looking up at the clouds they were passing through. And it was uncomfortably quiet again. Sokka should probably say something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, you’re into guys?” He winced at how unbearably awkward the question was. He didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>need</span>
  </em>
  <span> to ask that! That wasn’t something that he </span>
  <em>
    <span>needed</span>
  </em>
  <span> to know! </span>
  <em>
    <span>All</span>
  </em>
  <span> the information he </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually needed</span>
  </em>
  <span> was where Zuko wanted to go with this since they obviously both knew! </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, yeah,” Zuko said, looking just as uncomfortable as Sokka felt. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe he should just leave and— </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are—are you?” Not the sort of question Sokka wanted to answer, but he had brought this upon himself. If he was being honest, Sokka </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> hadn’t thought about that before. He had been so preoccupied with the assumption that the spirits had made a mistake, that Zuko wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually</span>
  </em>
  <span> meant for him, that he had never considered the alternative. Just in general, being attracted to guys wasn’t something that had crossed his mind. Sure, he was fine with the </span>
  <em>
    <span>idea</span>
  </em>
  <span> that his soulmate was a dude, but he wasn’t sure he was actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>attracted</span>
  </em>
  <span> to men. That being said, he would openly admit that men were attractive. And he had been purposefully walking into Zuko and Aang’s firebending lessons because he was just </span>
  <em>
    <span>curious</span>
  </em>
  <span> as to what Zuko looked like shirtless. And he had been inviting Zuko to come bathe with him and Aang… </span>
  <em>
    <span>platonically,</span>
  </em>
  <span> of course. He guessed he also wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>opposed</span>
  </em>
  <span> to dating another guy either. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Biting his lip, Sokka answered, “No” and regretted it the moment the word left his mouth. He wasn’t sure </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span> he had wanted to say, but it sure wasn’t that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Zuko said, his eyebrow furrowing. He adjusted his stance, a hand running through his black locks of hair. “I just—it’s just that—” Zuko let out a breath. “I thought soulmates were always supposed to be romantically involved.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I think normally they are, and like maybe one day we'll be but like right now I’m still sort of dating Suki still and you have a thing with the knife girl and like it was only last week that you were still trying to kill us—sorry, I know you’ve changed and I shouldn’t have said it that way, I just meant that we’ve only been on friendly terms for just over a week and I don’t know you super well yet, which really hasn’t stopped me before and yeah, I’m just going to shut up now.” He</span>
  <em>
    <span> really</span>
  </em>
  <span> needed to learn how to stop rambling when nervous. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko just stared at him. Eventually, it seemed as though his brain processed all the word vomit that had left Sokka’s mouth and he started nodding. “I get why you just want to stay friends,” he said, folding his arms. “I’m not sure we could be in a relationship even if you wanted to be.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ouch.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Sokka supposed he might have deserved that. It was one thing for him to say “maybe not right now,” but full-on rejection hurt. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why not?” Sokka asked before he could really stop himself. His heart was pounding hard enough to break his ribs and escape his chest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko looked out at the horizon. “I don’t know how it is in the Water Tribes, but it would be illegal in the Fire Nation.” Just as he finished that sentence, the door squeaked open. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, we made dinner if you two want to come eat,” Suki said from the doorway. She skipped a beat. “Oh, sorry. Did I interrupt something?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Zuko answered curtly. Sokka gave him a look. </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>“There’s a lot of catching up we ought to do.” The words seemed to come so easily from his dad, as if a few months was a short amount of time after two years separation. Nonetheless, it sent a wave of excitement through Sokka. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah! There’s so much we can tell you about!” he answered. Katara smiled, saying something about showing Dad her waterbending. And so they let the group know where they were going and headed off to find a spot for just the three of them to talk. It was nice. They had so many stories for their dad and he had many for them. It was casual, jovial, easy. For a while, it felt almost like their dad had never really left.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a hearty laugh, their dad quipped, “And next you’re going to both tell me that you’ve met your soulmates.” Sokka felt his smile disappear in a heartbeat. Should he tell his dad about him and Zuko? Should he tell Katara? Did he want either of them to know? Did Zuko want anyone to know? From what Sokka knew, he was a pretty private guy and this was as much his secret as it was Sokka’s. But he also didn’t want to keep things from—</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh shit,” Dad mumbled under his breath. “Both of you?” he asked with wide eyes. Katara bit her lip and nodded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aang’s my soulmate,” she mumbled, flushing. Their dad’s mouth fell open slightly and he just blinked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?” he questioned in slight disbelief. She nodded. He sighed. “Leave for two years and I come back to a daughter who’s both a master waterbender and soulmates with the avatar.” It was more to himself than them. Turning, he looked at Sokka and asked, “Does </span>
  <em>
    <span>your</span>
  </em>
  <span> soulmate happen to be of significant political standing?” It was a joke. Sokka knew it was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sucked air in through his teeth. “Yeah,” he answered sheepishly. Katara stared at him with wide eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who?” his sister demanded as his father just rubbed at his head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t have to tell you!” he said defensively. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, it’s someone we know,” Katara argued. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t say that!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ve gone everywhere together for the past eight months. Anyone you’ve met, I’ve met! Just tell me who!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka, could you at least tell us what nation they’re from?” his dad asked, sounding like he was getting a headache. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think it really matters,” Sokka answered, starting to feel his heartbeat pick up in panic. Katara continued trying to argue with him for a while before she realized… something? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t get why you’re making such a big deal out of this, it’s not like…” she trailed off halfway through the statement, losing herself in thought. “Tui, it wasn’t Yue was it?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Chief Arnook’s daughter?” Their dad asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, but no, she didn’t have a soulmate,” Sokka answered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When did you meet </span>
  <em>
    <span>her?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Dad questioned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We went to the north pole so Aang could master waterbending and Sokka spent a lot of time with her,” Katara answered uninterestedly. “If it wasn’t her, who is it?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not important!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is it Suki?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka faltered, feeling his mouth open and close a few times as he tried to string together a sentence. Would it be better to lie just to get her off his back? If he did, would Suki go along with it? Tui, he should have spoken to Zuko again about who they wanted to know about these things. He didn’t like trying to keep secrets like this. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara smiled. “So it is her?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I never said that,” Sokka nearly shouted back. Katara just gave him a knowing smile and finally let the subject drop, turning to their dad to tell them about their time at the North Pole.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>“Can I ask you guys for a favor?” Toph asked as they sat around the fire pit. It was strange to be hiding out in the Fire Nation again, after spending so long at the Air Temple. Sokka hadn’t missed setting up tents and moving every single day. Maybe part of him had missed stability after eight months on the run.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shoot,” Sokka said with a mouthful of food. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are the numbers on my wrist?” Collectively, the group sat down their food, a few of them exchanging glances. Katara gently reached over and took Toph’s left wrist in her hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you want to know what the numbers are or what they mean?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just what they are,” Toph said casually, her face turned towards Katara expectantly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you want me to read them outloud? I know that this can be a pretty personal thing and—” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just tell me the numbers, Sugar Queen,” Toph demanded. Katara pursed her lips. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One year, three hundred days, five hours, and eighteen minutes.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph nodded. “Are they changing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara paused for a moment, watching the numbers imprinted in her friend’s skin. Eventually, she answered, “No, I don’t think your clock has started.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph hummed in response, taking her wrist back. Putting another bite of food in her mouth, she asked, “What are everyone else's?” He guessed it was a fair question considering she couldn’t even see her own. From living in such close quarters, Sokka had caught glimpses of everyone’s clock at some point. They all basically knew what each other’s clocks read. It </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> wasn’t exactly a secret anymore. Nevertheless, nervousness seemed to wash over all of them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara and Aang exchanged a look. Zuko sat up a bit straighter, not once even glancing at Sokka. Suki sat her food down in front of her. Toph may have not realized that most people didn’t openy talk about soulmates. Growing up, Katara and Sokka were taught to keep their numbers covered; it was personal, it represented your most intimate relationship. He had guessed that it was the same elsewhere. Suki and Toph had always kept theirs covered, though the latter may not have realized it. Zuko had concealed his too; at least, he </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> until he joined their group. Aang, on the other hand, never had, saying he saw no point in it. Just a cultural difference, Sokka supposed. Or just a lot more had changed in one-hundred years than he thought. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is nobody going to answer me?” Toph questioned. “You know, I felt all of your heartbeats spike. What’s the big deal? Stop being such babies!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think everyone just doesn’t want to share about their soulmates right now, Toph,” Suki said gently, looking over at Sokka. He had told her about him and Zuko. She had told him about her and another Kyoshi Warrior named Zae. Both of their clocks were zeros, nearly faded completely into their skin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is there to hide? I know Katara and Aang are soulmates! I know you and Sokka are too. I just want to know what your numbers are!” Toph exclaimed pointing fingers at her friends. A wave of anxiety coursed through Sokka. He and Zuko really hadn’t spoken about soulmate stuff since that night on the way back from </span>
  <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CELEscQgOof/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet">
    <span>Boiling Rock.</span>
  </a>
  <span> Would he want their friends to know? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka isn’t my soulmate,” Suki said quietly, shattering the silence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Katara asked, looking up at Sokka. “Since when are you two </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> soulmates?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey! I don’t remember saying we ever were soulmates,” Sokka defended.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who is it then? I’ve seen your clock, I know you only have—” she cut herself off, giving him a sorry smile. Toph grinned wildly, inadvertently getting the answers she wanted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, Sokka’s clock hit zero?” Aang asked in bewilderment. “I thought Zuko and I were the only ones here!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Leave me out of this,” Zuko grumbled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>your</span>
  </em>
  <span> soulmate, Sparky?” Toph asked. The conversation didn’t stop for her question. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No one said Sokka’s clock hit zero, Aang,” Suki tried to help. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who is it, Sokka? I know you didn’t want to tell Dad, but come on!” Katara demanded, her arms crossed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not important,” Sokka argued, picking his food back up as a way to signal that he was done talking about this. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> important, Sokka,” she insisted, hands on her hips. “And I don’t know why you’re making such a big deal about this. You’re going to end up with her and we’ll all find out eventually! Just tell us who she is.” Suki gave him a look.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka didn’t have the energy to correct her. “No,” he repeated, taking another bite of food. Aang looked like he was trying to figure out how to say something to Katara, nervously reaching a hand towards her and pulling it back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suki looked uncomfortable. “Sokka obviously doesn’t want to talk about it guys, but I’ll tell you about mine,” she offered as a distraction. Sometimes he was so, </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> glad Suki was a part of his life. Well, more than just sometimes. Usually always.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Spit it out,” Toph said excitedly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you want to just know what my number was or who it is?” Suki asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Both, of course,” Toph answered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I had three years, four days, twenty-three hours, and twelve minutes,” Suki recited. Sokka put his food down to hold her hand. She gave him a smile and sighed. “She’s one of the Kyoshi Warriors. She joined after you all left Kyoshi island so I don’t think you would have met her. But I had known her for a while before she joined.” There was a moment’s silence as their friends processed what she had said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Suki,” Katara began. “No offense, but why are you dating my brother?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She didn’t want our relationship to be used against us if we got captured.” There was so much sadness in Suki’s voice. Sokka wished he could find which prison the others were in and break them out too. But if he was being honest with himself, he wasn’t sure he had another prison break in him. It would be more productive to just end the war and have them be released that way than to spend all the time and energy breaking them out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph cracked her knuckles. “Alright. Who’s next?” There was quiet. “What about you, Twinkle Toes? What’s your number?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sixty-five days and a few hours,” Aang answered. She just hummed in response.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So what was yours?” Toph asked, kicking a pebble at Katara. Sokka watched his sister adjust herself and look over at Aang. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you want to know what it started at or what it currently is?” Toph shrugged. Sokka still didn’t understand how she knew certain nonverbal cues. “It started at two-hundred eighty days, fourteen hours, and ten minutes. Right now, it’s twenty-two days, twenty hours, and eight minutes.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph only nodded, seeming very confident that the last of her friends were bound to open up to her now. “Sparky?” Zuko just sighed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Two-hundred fifty-four days. I don’t remember the hours or minutes.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How sweet of you,” Katara said, voice dripping with sarcasm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My father wouldn’t let us look at them. Said they were a distraction so I never really got a chance to memorize it.” There was some bite to Zuko’s voice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who’s the lucky girl? Is it that one that throws knives?” Toph quipped. Sokka felt himself inadvertently tense up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a boy,” Zuko corrected, staring into the fire they were sitting around. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My bad. Who’s the lucky boy?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not going to tell you.” Zuko didn’t look up from the fire pit in front of them once. Sokka shifted his gaze away from him and over at Suki. Her mouth pulled to one side briefly, almost like a quiet apology. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph paused for a moment before nodding. “Well, then that leaves you, Sokka.” He was partially hoping that she would forget. It was a naive wish. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mine was two-hundred fifty-seven days, two hours, and two minutes.” He was really hoping that no one would notice how similar he and Zuko’s numbers were. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And what is it now?” Toph asked. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zuko look at him. Suki reached back over to give his hand a quick squeeze. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Straightening his back a little, he answered, “It’s zero now.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who is it?” Aang asked excitedly. “Is it anyone we know?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t—” he mumbled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C’mon, Sokka,” Katara butted in. “Just tell us! I want to know who she is.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh—” he managed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah! Give me something new to tease you about!” Toph added. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s really convincing, Toph,” Sokka deadpanned, running a hand over his face. “And that’s not really something I want to share with you guys.” Aang and Toph said something, trying to convince him just to tell them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can’t keep it a secret forever, Sokka,” Katara said with finality, letting the conversation drop. </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>If he didn’t know better, Sokka would have guessed that the house was haunted. Zuko had said that it had been abandoned for a few years, servants only coming in every so often for maintenance. He said that had stopped about three years ago, though. Sokka was honestly a little surprised it wasn’t in </span>
  <em>
    <span>worse</span>
  </em>
  <span> shape. Vines had grown over the siding, but there was no evidence of animals or plants trying to live and grow inside the house. It was quiet, sat on an isolated spot on Ember Island, far away from most of the other residents. Nothing felt like maybe someone had been squatting in there. Despite the fact that everyone got to sleep in their own room and every bed had been filled, the house still felt </span>
  <em>
    <span>empty.</span>
  </em>
  <span> And Sokka couldn’t sleep. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had thought that summer in Ba Sing Se was bad. The Fire Nation was somehow worse. Heat there just felt heavier, clinging to your skin like a wet blanket. No matter how thin the sheets were, he still sweat trying to sleep. It was unbearable. And because of that, he spent most of the night awake, listening to every creak and groan that the house made. Every little noise that made him feel like they were </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> alone there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The moon was high in the night sky, washing light over Sokka’s bed and he couldn’t take it anymore. Pulling a shirt back on, he got up and decided to wander. Maybe he could walk himself into exhaustion and </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally</span>
  </em>
  <span> get a full night’s sleep here. He doubted it would work, but it was better than just lying in a pool of his own sweat for the next few hours. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Walking around didn’t make the house any less creepy. He felt like they were staying with Hama again. There was something inherently </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong</span>
  </em>
  <span> with being there… other than it was the Fire Lord’s vacant vacation home. Strangely, it felt fine during the day. Something about sunlight made it feel just like any old house. Currently, the shadows felt like they clung to Sokka like the heat and every creak the floor made under his feet felt deafening. Eventually, he decided that walking along the beach would be better since he wouldn’t run the risk of waking up his friends… </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely</span>
  </em>
  <span>, not because he was scared. Definitely not. It was </span>
  <em>
    <span>solely</span>
  </em>
  <span> because the floor was just too loud. And </span>
  <em>
    <span>no</span>
  </em>
  <span> other reason. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The closer he got to the beach, the windier it became. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why couldn’t it have been like this up at the house?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Sokka wondered, bitter about the perspiration that clung to his skin. He had kept his window open in </span>
  <em>
    <span>hopes</span>
  </em>
  <span> that the wind would come through. But wind wasn’t the only thing populating the beach. As he made his way down the hill, the better he could make out a shadow near the shoreline, backlit by a dim, flickering light. Part of him felt like he should turn back now, in case it was someone he didn’t know; but driven by natural curiosity, he pushed forward. Gradually, the shape looked more and more familiar… like a certain hot-headed firebender with shaggy hair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko didn’t flinch as Sokka sat down next to him in the sand, a small flame dancing over his fingertips. It flickered as another gust of wind blew through, ruffling both of their hair. “Why are you awake?” Zuko asked casually after a moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka shrugged. “The house is </span>
  <a href="https://images7.memedroid.com/images/UPLOADED602/5bdbaf76ad7c8.jpeg">
    <span>haunted.</span>
  </a>
  <span>” It was a joke, but he hoped Zuko wouldn’t sense the tiniest bit of truth in it. If he did, he didn’t let on. Zuko only chuckled a little, transferring his fire down into his palm. Then there was quiet. The wind blew. Waves hit the sand in front of them. Insects buzzed off in the distance. Quiet. “Why are you up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko shrugged. “Like you said… house’s haunted.” Sokka didn’t miss the quick smile that pulled at the corner of Zuko’s mouth. The words felt like a joke, but Sokka could just feel that there was more to the statement. But instead of saying anything, he just watched the flame dance in his soulmate’s hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What does it feel like?” Sokka really needed to get in better control of his mouth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh?” Zuko asked, blinking. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What does it feel like to firebend?” Sokka clarified, looking up to meet Zuko’s gaze. His eyes were pretty in this light, shiny like a dark honey. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko dropped his gaze back down to the flame, biting his lip a little. They hadn’t been this close since the Boiling Rock. As high stakes and stressful as those three days had been, Sokka missed them a little. Maybe all he really wanted again was the one-on-one time with Zuko. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess Aang really put it best,” Zuko decided eventually, looking back up at Sokka. “It feels like a little heartbeat.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When did Aang say that?” Sokka asked, scrunching up his nose. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When we learned firebending from the masters,” Zuko answered with an eye roll, the flame returning to his finger tips. Sokka watched him bounce it from one finger to the next, the flame bobbing and flickering. There were visible calluses on the pads of his fingers; whether they were from his swords or his bending, Sokka wasn’t sure. He wanted to know. He wanted to touch them and hear the story behind them. Similarly, Sokka wanted to run his fingers over the raised scar tissue of Zuko’s face and learn about that too. He had his theories—a training accident, a spoiled, rich prince not knowing how to cook, some fire-breathing animal—but he wanted to know the exact reason. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lost in thought, eyes glued to the little light, Sokka reached his hand out. Zuko froze, tensing. The action brought Sokka back to reality, ready to apologize for the action. But then he felt it. His fingers were so close to Zuko’s and he felt it. The rhythmic, steady pulses of heat that emanated from the flame. Eyes widening, he got closer, nearly </span>
  <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CEkW0ubnZWD/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet">
    <span>touching the fire.</span>
  </a>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Holy shit, it </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> like a tiny heartbeat,” Sokka mumbled to himself. Smiling, he looked up at Zuko. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Y-yeah,” he stuttered back. Sokka laughed a little at him. Zuko had been with them for nearly two weeks at that point but still hadn’t adjusted to people in his space. He was almost painfully awkward at times. Sokka had liked that about him from the start, mainly because it gave him ammunition for teasing. But now, it almost felt endearing. Maybe it was just how pretty Zuko’s eyes were or the fact that he was warm and the wind was starting to feel a bit chilly. But Sokka just wanted to be close to him. He wanted to touch the calluses on his fingers and the scar on his eye and—</span>
</p><p>
  <a href="https://youtu.be/5Ba9_jaN7EA?t=5">
    <em>
      <span>Fuck.</span>
    </em>
  </a>
  <em>
    <span> I’m in love with Zuko. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>“What did you do?” Sokka yelled. Katara was half carrying Zuko as she helped him into the infirmary bed next to his. It was a little surreal, being treated in the hospital wing of the Fire Nation Palace. Sokka never would have guessed that he would end up here as a guest and not as a prisoner or invader. He also never would have guessed that war would ever end, but </span>
  <a href="https://pyxis.nymag.com/v1/imgs/3ce/c14/3c6625f8be9399c7da75e38606e5096011-29-shrug-emoji.rsocial.w1200.jpg">
    <span>hey,</span>
  </a>
  <span> things change. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Got struck by lightning,” Zuko said </span>
  <em>
    <span>far</span>
  </em>
  <span> too nonchalantly. Sokka almost felt like he was joking. It was always hard to tell with Zuko. “What did you do?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I broke my leg falling off of an airship, but let’s back up a second. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why</span>
  </em>
  <span> was there lightning?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why did you fall off an airship?” Zuko shot back. Sokka looked at him aghast. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I asked you first!” he semi-shouted, trying to sit himself up. Pain shot through his leg and he winced. Something in Zuko’s expression changed as he stared at Sokka.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He redirected lightning that Azula shot at me,” Katara said, sitting on Sokka’s bedside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No shit,” Sokka commented a little in awe, looking back over at Zuko. He got an awkward smile in return. Sokka flinched. He had known that Zuko knew how to redirect lightning; he just sort of assumed he’d never actually use it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hold still,” Katara grumbled, hands glowing as she ran water over his leg. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Give me a little warning next time then, won’t cha?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t fall off an airship then,” she retorted, pulling her hands back. She gave him an apologetic look. “I don’t think there’s much I can do to heal it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll be fine. I survived the last nine months with you on the back of Appa, didn’t I?” She hit him on the shoulder playfully. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now I wouldn’t heal you even if I could,” she quipped back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever,” he said, laying his head back down on the pillow and looking over at Zuko for a moment. He was still sitting on the side of the bed, one arm absentmindedly clutching his bandaged ribs. “Were you able to heal him?” Sokka asked, pointing at the other teen. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara’s eyebrows furrowed and the corners of her mouth twitched like they always did whenever she was suspicious. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, fuck,</span>
  </em>
  <span> he thought, worried this was about to turn into an interrogation. Thankfully, she just shook her head. “No, not entirely. It’s going to leave a scar.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Damn,” Sokka mumbled, turning to look at Zuko again. “Sorry about that, man.” Zuko just shrugged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, what’s another scar from a family member?” It sounded like it was supposed to be a joke. His mouth twitched in a partial smile like it was supposed to be too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” Katara asked with audible confusion. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ignoring the pain, Sokka scooched himself back on the bed to sit up. “Yeah, what do you mean by </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘another?’</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko’s eyebrow knitted. “I mean my…” he pointed at his face. “I thought you all—didn’t you know?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who did that, Zuko?” Sokka yelled at the same time Katara shouted, “A </span>
  <em>
    <span>family member</span>
  </em>
  <span> did that?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Stunned was probably the best way to describe Zuko. His mouth hung open and he just stared at the siblings for a moment. “I-I thought—it was publicly announced when I was banished.” When they continued to stare at him, he dropped his eyes and gnawed on his bottom lip. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I swear, Zuko. My leg may be broken but I’ll kick whoever’s ass did that to you,” Sokka said, swinging said broken leg over the side of the bed. He saw Katara’s mouth twitch again out of the corner of his eye. Zuko’s eyes were filled with shock as he looked back up at Sokka. “I mean it!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-it was my father.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka just hummed, folding his arms. “So Aang beat me to it?” </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>“I want to just fire them all,” Zuko grumbled, flopping back on the sofa. Sokka sat himself down in the chair across from him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then just do it. You’re the Fire Lord!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t,” Zuko groaned, covering his face with his hands. “They were advisors to my grandfather and fath—” he stopped when Sokka gave him a looking. Zuko rolled his eyes, but smiled slightly, and corrected himself. “And fucking-Ozai. But by tradition I can’t replace them until they die because advisors are for life and—” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Zuko,” Sokka interrupted. “In case you forgot, your grandfather and fucking-Ozai were very pro-one-hundred-years-of-war and you are very </span>
  <em>
    <span>not.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko rolled his eyes. “Thanks, Sokka.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah-ah-ah! I’m not </span>
  <em>
    <span>done.</span>
  </em>
  <span> How long have you been Fire Lord now?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Almost four years,” he answered hesitantly, his eye brows knitting together as he stared at Sokka from the couch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And how long was fucking-Ozai Fire Lord?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Four and a half.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly. I think you should fire all of your advisors and hire new ones. We’re no longer at war so you shouldn’t have advisors who are pro-war. Plus, fuck tradition! You’ve been Fire Lord almost longer than fucking-Ozai was and </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> outrank </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span> now. Don’t take peer pressure from dead people!” A smile pulled at the edge of Zuko’s mouth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah… maybe I should.” There was a moment of silence as Zuko’s eyes flitted a bit, lost in thought. “I guess it’s also not entirely my advisors I’m frustrated with. The Fire Sages are partially it too.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s happening this time?” Sokka asked, kicking a leg up over the arm of the chair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m trying to repeal the law that makes homosexuality a crime. And I want to instate a right to marriage between anyone in the Fire Nation, regardless of sex.” Sokka’s heart skipped a beat as Zuko rolled his head to look over at him. His break-up with Suki was still pretty fresh, Sokka certainly wasn’t ready to be getting </span>
  <em>
    <span>married</span>
  </em>
  <span> anytime soon even if it was his soulmate… even if he had been </span>
  <em>
    <span>stupidly</span>
  </em>
  <span> in love with said soulmate for the last four years.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Sokka said like an idiot, bringing his leg back down. “I mean, yeah, that’s definitely something you should do, dude, I just…” He wasn’t sure where he was going with that sentence. Zuko sat up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You just what, Sokka?” There was defensiveness underlying in his voice. Sokka tensed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-I just, like, I don’t want to marry you right now if that’s why you’re doing all that—” Zuko held up his hand, sitting up on the couch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“First of all, why do you think that’s how I’d ask you to marry me? Secondly, I know you’re not romantically interested in men so it’s not like—” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I like men.” Groundbreaking sentence. The peak of intelligence and decorum. It was followed by </span>
  <a href="https://youtu.be/4dKbKX2csug?t=99">
    <span>a personality changing silence</span>
  </a>
  <span> as Zuko just stared at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I like men and women, Zuko,” Sokka clarified. Zuko blinked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why are you just saying this now?” Zuko asked, seeming almost angry. Rubbing his hands over his face, he mumbled, “Agni, Sokka, don’t make this harder.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Make what harder?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko sighed, dropping his hands into his lap. “My advisors were worried that my interest in repealing that law was because my soulmate ‘may be a man,’ so they talked the Fire Sages into arranging a marriage for me.” Sokka’s heart stopped. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” His brain was really struggling to process the reality of that statement. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, Sokka. I feel like I have to do this. The Sages told me I have to produce a biological heir.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We could do surrogacy,” Sokka suggested. Zuko sighed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know… I know. It’s just that there are already enough people who want me dead because I’m not my father. Marrying you… marrying </span>
  <em>
    <span>any </span>
  </em>
  <span>man really wouldn’t make that any better.” Sokka felt like he was going to cry. It’s not like they were romantically involved. Maybe he had just hoped for it one day. He just never realized his time would run out so soon. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who is it?” Sokka asked, his voice catching in his throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mai.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought you were only dating for the public. I thought she was with Ty Lee.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We are and she is. We’re getting married so that there isn’t suspicion of who our soulmates are.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What would that mean for us?” Sokka asked eventually. Zuko bit his lip. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re privately setting up a room for Ty Lee to come and live with us. We could make one for you too.” That didn’t make things better. Sokka felt a tear slip down his face. Dammit, he should be keeping it together better than this. They weren’t together. He wasn’t getting broken up with. It </span>
  <em>
    <span>shouldn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> feel like he was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But what if we want to be together publicly?” Even though he asked the question, he already knew the answer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was Zuko’s turn to start crying. “Sokka,” he got out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re only twenty. Why are you getting married right now?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko shook his head. There was probably a list of reasons that he couldn’t get his mouth to say. Probably something to do with an heir to the throne or being able to repeal the law easier. It didn’t matter. The consequence was still the same. Moving over to the couch, Sokka wrapped his arms around Zuko’s waist. Automatically, Zuko folded his arms around Sokka’s shoulder, seeming to need the embrace as much as he did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry.” </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>Sokka was there for the day of Zuko’s wedding, nearly a year later. It was nice, despite the fact that Sokka had no real baseline for Fire Nation weddings… or weddings in general. He was having fun, even if some part of him ached all the way through it. Toph and Aang were finally old enough to drink with the rest of them, meaning both of them were more amusing than normal. The sun had barely started setting when Katara pulled him aside to talk and “catch up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought Zuko said that his soulmate was a man,” Katara whispered. Sokka just took another sip of sake. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. His and Mai’s marriage is more a political facade than anything else,” he mumbled, trying to stop his mouth from saying the next sentence. “Mai and Ty Lee are soulmates, you know?” Katara looked over at him in surprise. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you know that, Sokka?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He smiled. “I’m a fucking ambassador, Katara. It’s my job to know all the Fire Nation gossip.” The corners of his sister’s mouth twitched. He rolled his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That doesn’t mean you’d just automatically know all those things,” she quietly argued back. “Aang’s here just as much as you are and he would’ve told me if he knew any of that.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck, she’s got me,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Sokka thought, taking another sip.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Setting his glass down on the table behind them, he waved for her to get closer. She leaned in, brows knitted together. “Zuko told me all of that. We’re soulmates,” he whispered into her ear. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe</span>
  </em>
  <span>—just </span>
  <em>
    <span>maybe</span>
  </em>
  <span>—he was a little</span>
  <em>
    <span> too</span>
  </em>
  <span> drunk for his own good. Or, </span>
  <em>
    <span>maybe,</span>
  </em>
  <span> he had just wanted to be honest about his soulmate for once. Either way, he hadn’t wanted to say the latter sentence aloud. It wasn’t his intention to let that secret out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara pulled back, looking almost horrified. “Sokka!” It sounded like she was scolding him, her hand on his shoulder. “You should have said something!” Her eyes flitted around towards the ground for a second as if she was trying to find something. “I can’t imagine watching Aang marry someone else. How are you holding up? Are you okay?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Brushing her hand off, he replied, “I’m fine. It’s not like we really could—” He cut himself off as he saw Aang approaching, Zuko in tow. </span>
</p><p><span>“We have been looking </span><em><span>all</span></em> <em><span>over </span></em><span>for you guys,” Aang almost slurred, his face as red as the garments of most of the attendees. It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out that he was </span><em><span>more</span></em><span> than tipsy. Even standing still, Aang looked like he was struggling with balance, gripping Zuko’s arm for support. Sokka was still a little surprised at how tall he had gotten, barely taller than Zuko at this point.</span></p><p>
  <span>Katara gave Zuko a sympathetic smile. “Aang, sweetie, maybe it’s time that we go home for the night.” His eyebrows scrunched up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why? I’m having a great time!” he said, stumbling a little as he let go of Zuko’s arm. Sokka bit back a laugh. His sister visibly deflated a bit. Aang, for as intoxicated as he was, still noticed this. Looking genuinely concerned, he grabbed her arm gently, keeling a little to one side. “Is something wrong? What happened?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Katara shook her head, visibly fighting a smile. “No, no. It’s all okay. I’m just feeling…  </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> tired, Aang.” It was such an audible lie, but somehow Aang didn’t catch on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!” Aang, stumbling, wrapped an arm around her waist. “Well, then let’s leave then!” Sokka was </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> struggling with suppressing his laughter. Katara gave him an almost exhausted look, trying not to smile herself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well,” she said, turning towards Zuko. “This was lovely. Thank you for inviting us, but we will be making our leave now.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course,” Zuko answered, looking like he was also fighting laughter. “It was great to see you both.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And as the two walked away, Aang loudly whispered, “Thanks, Katara. I think I’m drunk… like </span>
  <em>
    <span>super</span>
  </em>
  <span> drunk.” With that, Sokka broke, snickering into the palm of his hand. Zuko was biting his lip still in an attempt not to laugh. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He is such a lightweight,” Zuko commented. Sokka had to fight back more laughter, grabbing Zuko’s bicep casually. Something in Zuko’s face fell. Placing his hand over Sokka’s, he asked, “Hey, Sokka, can I talk to you for a moment?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That’s how they ended up in Zuko’s chambers, alone in the dim light. No one had noticed them leaving the party. Everyone was too invested in their conversations or their drinks. Away from all the festivities, it was almost quiet in the palace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> “I still stand by my offer. You could stay here with us like Ty Lee is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Zuko, you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>married!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Sokka argued. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And Mai is spending tonight with Ty Lee on the other side of the palace, Sokka,” Zuko shot back. Sokka shook his head. It just didn’t feel </span>
  <em>
    <span>right</span>
  </em>
  <span> to him. He’d resigned himself to the fact that he’d lost his opportunity to be with Zuko romantically. What Zuko was suggesting </span>
  <em>
    <span>felt</span>
  </em>
  <span> illicit. Probably by law it </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> illicit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want to be your side-piece.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You won’t be! Mai and I are friends. You know that we’ve only gotten married for political reasons.” Folding his arms over his chest, Sokka looked down at the floor and bit his lip. Logically, he knew it was true. He had said the same thing to Katara not more than ten minutes ago. Resolution seemed to fill the pit in the bottom of his stomach as Zuko placed a hand on his shoulder. As he met Zuko’s eyes, Sokka unfolded his arms, letting one fall while resting the other on Zuko’s cheek. His eyes were the same hone-gold they had been that night on the beach. Zuko’s hand came up to cover his and they just stared at each other for a moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka leaned in and their lips met. It felt </span>
  <a href="https://youtu.be/SdSCCwtNEjA">
    <em>
      <span>right,</span>
    </em>
  </a>
  <span> like he was supposed to have done this his whole life. Zuko’s lips were soft and the kiss almost felt chaste, sweet. Pulling back for a moment, he brought their foreheads together and met Zuko’s eyes. A hand came to cover the one that Sokka had kept on Zuko’s cheek. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you, Sokka,” Zuko whispered. Sokka’s heart nearly stopped at the words. He had said them to Suki just two years prior. She had said them back. But this was </span>
  <em>
    <span>different.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Why did it feel </span>
  <em>
    <span>different?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you too,” he replied without hesitation, connecting their lips again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kissing Zuko took mercy on Sokka’s soul, relieving it of all the ache and sorrow he had carried with him for the last few years. </span>
  <em>
    <span>The spirits never make mistakes,</span>
  </em>
  <span> a voice echoed in Sokka’s mind. Zuko’s hand that had been on his shoulder slid down to his waist. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Soulmates are always meant for each other.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Sokka moved a hand through the top of Zuko’s shirt, fingers running over his collar bone. Zuko’s tongue slipped into his mouth and Sokka felt like he was melting. His skin felt like it was on fire from Zuko’s touch, which he should have been more concerned about in retrospect. </span>
  <em>
    <span>The spirits don’t make mistakes,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Sokka thought as he was pushed up against the wall, Zuko trailing kisses down his neck. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The next morning, Sokka woke up in Zuko’s bed, naked with an arm wrapped around his waist. It didn’t take him long to know that it was how he wanted to wake up every morning for the rest of his life. So that became the first of many times that he would wake up like that. Eventually, Sokka would take Zuko up on his offer for his own room in the Palace. Not that he slept in that bed often. It was more just somewhere to store his clothes so the servants wouldn’t be suspicious. Not that they weren’t already. He was sure they noticed that the Fire Lady always shared a bed with a Kyoshi Warrior and an ambassador always slept with the Fire Lord. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know if I’m ready to be a father,” Zuko said against Sokka’s bare chest one night, years later. Sokka ran his fingers through his long black hair, sweat still clinging to his forehead. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ll be fine. You’ve worked through most of your own shit from childhood. It’ll be fine.” Sokka paused, letting his hand untangle a few knots in his hair. “Plus, Aang and Katara are already nailing the whole parenting thing.” Zuko scoffed a little. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but they’ve always been the perfect example of everything.” Sokka snickered a bit at the comment. There was a moment’s silence. It had probably been a few hours since they had blown out the candles to go to sleep. That just hadn’t happened. The rest of the palace had long since gone to sleep, minus the guards outside. “Mai doesn’t want to be a mother either.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like, in general or right now?” Sokka asked for clarification. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“In general. I can’t say I blame her. Probably, I wouldn’t actually want children if it wasn’t required of me.” Sokka decided it was better to not respond to that, just letting his fingers run through his lover’s hair. Sometimes, he couldn’t believe that it had been a decade since they had first met, since the war had ended. He had never wanted children either as a teenager. But the world was better now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We think Mai has fertility issues,” Zuko mumbled offhandedly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka’s eyes opened. “Huh?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t tell anyone. But you know how Mai’s brother is fifteen years younger than her?” Zuko asked, looking up to meet his eyes. Sokka nodded. “It wasn’t a ‘happy accident’ like her parents say. Apparently, her mom lost a lot of pregnancies and two babies over the years. Mai thinks she has the same problem.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>For a second, Sokka just blinked as he processed the information. To his recollection, Mai hadn’t gotten pregnant yet. Zuko and her were just </span>
  <em>
    <span>trying,</span>
  </em>
  <span> as much as he </span>
  <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CEw5eQzBOvh/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet">
    <span>hated</span>
  </a>
  <span> the thought of it. But nothing had stuck. “Do—can I ask why you think this? Like, has Mai… ya know?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s lost three already. Two around two months, and one at about three.” It was so nonchalant that Sokka felt like they were having a very different conversation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, fuck,” Sokka whispered. “I’m sorry, man.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine. Again, neither of us really feel ready to be parents right now, anyway.” Zuko skipped a beat. “Mai says that it’s a sign from the spirits that we shouldn’t have gotten married. That we’ve angered them by not marrying our soulmates.” </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe it had been,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Sokka thought as he held Zuko’s daughter. He could hear Zuko crying still in the next room over. He had been asked to leave him alone, just for a little bit. Zuko just needed to be alone. Looking down at the pruny, bloody child in his arms, Sokka felt a pang of loss. He had felt it last at Zuko and Mai’s wedding. Something so wonderful had come out of that night despite the pain. Here he was, thinking the same thing on the day Zuko’s first and only child was born. Initially, he had felt so lucky, being one of the first to hold her. It had been a difficult pregnancy and he had wanted to help in any way he could. So he came for the birth. He had promised to stay in the Fire Nation for a week to help the new parents adjust.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now, he would stay longer for Mai’s funeral. </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>“How am I supposed to do this by myself?” His back was against the wall of the nursery, sitting on the floor. His eyes were red and he had long since taken his top knot out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not going to,” Sokka answered. The baby was sleeping soundly in his arms. She had gone unnamed in the chaos of the delivery. A few hours later, her name was still not at the top of anyone’s list of priorities. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You said yourself that you can’t stay long, there are things you have to do back down at the Southern Water Tribe. My mom has to go back to Kiyi in Hira’a. Azula’s still off, trying to find herself. Agni, she doesn’t know… Oh, </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Ty Lee!” Zuko looked up at Sokka with tears in his eyes. “She doesn’t even know either! Ty Lee was going to be here next week. The baby was supposed to be here next week.” Sokka got up from his chair to join his soulmate on the floor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wrote to Katara already. I asked her and Aang to come up and stay with you while I go home and get my things.” Zuko stared at him for a moment. “I’m going to stay with you, Zuko.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For how long?” It was cautious as if he was expecting Sokka to change his mind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka shook his head. “I don’t know.” Zuko just stared at him for a second, searching in his eyes for something. He knew what he wanted to say, his heart just jumped with anxiety. “I—I want to help you raise her.” A new wave of tears escaped Zuko’s eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about your work in Republic City? And your tribe? They all still need you. I can’t just ask you to—” Gently, Sokka stopped him with a kiss.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not asking me to. I’m telling you. I’m staying. The rest of that I’ll figure out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Carefully, Zuko wrapped his arms around Sokka’s waist, his head finding a place on his shoulder. Sokka felt tears soak through the fabric of his shirt as he wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “Thank you.” </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>“Sokka!” Aang called, floating to the ground from Appa’s head. There was a baby bundled against his chest. It really had been a while since Sokka had seen his sister and Aang. Katara had still been pregnant, Aang had just started growing a beard. They looked </span>
  <em>
    <span>older.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Sokka smiled at them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aang! Who did you bring with you?” he motioned to the baby in the sling. Based on her size and his memory, she was a few months old. Aang laughed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is Kya!” he introduced, removing her from her bundle. She had a full head of dark hair and the bluest eyes Sokka had seen on a baby. He smiled at her and she smiled back, kicking a little. As he took his niece from Aang, Katara slid down Appa, a fussy toddler in her arms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Katara! Bumi!” Sokka yelled, covering Kya’s ears gently. For only a second, the three-year-old stopped fussing to look at his uncle, before fighting harder to be released. Reluctantly, Katara sat him down and he ran. Sokka bent down to scoop up his nephew with a laugh. Kya, for her infinite infantile wisdom, gave her brother a look and decided to gnaw on Sokka’s shoulder. Setting Bumi down, Sokka asked, “How are you, Katara?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tired. Now, give Aang our daughter back so I can hug you,” she answered simply. He obliged, Bumi still staring up at him in anticipation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve missed you,” Sokka said, as he pulled back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ve missed you too,” Katara said with a laugh, glancing at her son pulling at the bottom of Sokka’s shirt. Chuckling, he picked him up with a spin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And how’s my favorite warrior of the Southern Water Tribe?” A nasally laugh escaped Bumi. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I fought </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span> bad guys, Uncle Sokka!” he exclaimed happily. Sokka bounced him gently. “I beat ‘em up!” He punched the air in demonstration.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure you did, kid,” he replied with a smile, turning back towards his sister and brother-in-law. Katara’s face turned serious. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How’s Zuko?” she asked. Sokka sighed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As well as you’d expect. The funeral was five days ago. We waited for Ty Lee to get here, but we really couldn’t wait much longer.” She held her arms out, asking for her child back. Sokka wordlessly obliged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, why did you wait for Ty Lee?” Aang asked, a hand resting on Kya in the sling. Sokka looked over at Katara. At least, he knew that she was good at keeping secrets. Sighing, he glanced around the courtyard. It was just the five of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mai and Ty Lee were soulmates,” Sokka explained and Aang’s face fell. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh. I didn’t realize that.” He readjusted his weight, his eyebrows furrowing in thought. “I don’t know if you’d know this, Sokka, but where’s Zuko’s soulmate? I know he’s never really spoken about him, but, whoever he is, he should be here for Zuko.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka shifted his weight on his feet. Katara gave him an empathetic look. This had been easier the first time when he was a little drunk. Running a hand over his hair, he quietly said, “I’m Zuko’s soulmate.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aang raised his eyebrows in surprise, his eyes dropping to their feet. “That explains a lot,” he mumbled to himself. Looking back up at Sokka, he smiled slightly. “I’m glad you were here for him. I’m also glad you two get to be together finally… despite the circumstances.” Sokka laughed drily, knowing he shouldn’t share how long he and Zuko had </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually</span>
  </em>
  <span> been involved romantically. Bumi was still struggling in Katara’s arms. Sokka offered to take him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Want to meet your cousin?” Sokka asked the toddler. He grinned in response, providing some nasally, incomprehensible ramble in response. The best Sokka could make out was something about babies being weird. “Those are some valid reasons, my dude. Babies</span>
  <em>
    <span> are</span>
  </em>
  <span> kind of weird,” he told him in response. Bumi laughed, looking over at his father. Sokka tilted his head, motioning for Aang and Katara to follow him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All you said in your letter is that it’s a girl,” Katara began. “What’s her name?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She hasn’t been named yet. We’ve just been calling her ‘Baby,’” Sokka answered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s been two weeks!” Katara retorted. “We named both Bumi and Kya by the time they were a day old!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, I know. I’ve been letting Zuko take his time. He and Mai might not have been soulmates, but they were close, you know? He needs time to grieve.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, didn’t they have names picked out already?” Aang asked as they walked down the hall. Bumi pulled at Sokka’s wolf tail. He winced, but didn’t say anything to the toddler.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, but they wanted to wait a few days to see which one would fit best,” he said, hoisting Bumi up onto his shoulders. They let the name subject drop, instead asking more about Sokka: how he was doing, what he was working on as ambassador, how long he thought he would be back in the Southern Water Tribe. He answered them freely, bouncing his nephew a little to get him to laugh. Eventually, it became Aang’s turn to share.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...and I can’t wait, you know?” he said at the end of a </span>
  <em>
    <span>long</span>
  </em>
  <span> ramble. If Sokka was being honest, he had tuned him out a little. Air acolyte stuff was important and he was glad Aang was excited about it. Sokka just really did </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> need every single detail. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I get that,” Sokka answered, putting a hand on the handle to the nursery. He paused. “Oh, hey. Don’t be surprised if there’s a random woman in there feeding her. It’s just the wet nurse. Her name is Mani, if you’re curious,” he said, pushing open the door. Instead of Mani sitting in the chair in the corner of the room, there was Zuko, fast asleep with the baby cradled in his arms. Sokka sighed, setting Bumi on the floor and crossing the room over to them. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Aang and Katara exchange a look as he lifted the baby from Zuko’s arms and pulled a spare blanket over him. Zuko startled awake, panic and sleep in his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Sokka, okay,” he mumbled with a small smile, his eyes fluttering shut again, head leaning against the back of the chair. He adjusted himself slightly, the weight of the infant gone. Sokka brushed a strand of hair from his face and tucked it behind his ear. He would have loved to shove Zuko over in the chair and let the three of them just cuddle. Instead, he turned back around to face Katara and Aang. Trying to be quiet, he motioned for them to go back out in the hall. Unfortunately, toddlers are rarely quiet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a baby!” Bumi laughed, pointing his finger. “Uncle Sokka has a </span>
  <em>
    <span>baby!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Sokka could recognize when he was being teased by a three-year-old. Unfortunately, he rarely understood </span>
  <em>
    <span>why</span>
  </em>
  <span> he was being teased by a three-year-old. Zuko startled again behind him with a small gasp. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, shit, sorry, I didn’t realize you were here already,” Zuko said groggily. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uncle Zuko said a naughty!” Bumi informed them. Aang just gave him a nod. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no, it’s okay. Sleep if you need it,” Katara insisted, ignoring her child. Sokka turned to see Zuko move the blanket to the side and stand up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine,” he contended, holding up a hand and forcing a smile. He still barely looked like he was awake. Normally, he’d probably be hanging off of Sokka. “How was the trip here?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As good as it can be with two children under the age of five,” Aang answered nonchalantly. “How are you doing?” Zuko let out a breath and shook his head at Aang and Katara. They seemed to accept that as an answer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry, Zuko,” Katara said, hugging him. “I’m sorry we weren’t here. For the birth and the funeral, I mean. I wish we could have been here for you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” he muttered to her. “But it’s okay. You have your own lives.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re glad your soulmate was here, though,” Aang commented. Zuko pulled back from the hug to give him a look. “We know, Sokka told us.” Color drained from Zuko’s face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” he said, looking over at Sokka. He just shrugged, careful of the sleeping infant in his arms. “Uh… Sorry, I just—um.” He ran a hand over his right eye. In a whisper, he asked, “Sokka, why didn’t you talk to me first about telling people about us?”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I only told them the soulmate part. And I figured that they’d get pretty suspicious as to why Ty Lee and I are helping you raise a child, otherwise,” Sokka murmured back. Zuko pursed his lips, not breaking eye contact with Sokka. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want to see the baby!” Bumi interjected, speaking to Katara more than Sokka or Zuko. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, we can step outside if you want us to,” Katara offered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no, it’s fine,” Zuko said, taking the baby back from Sokka. “This is Izumi.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Izumi?” Katara asked, sounding like her insides were melting. Zuko nodded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought she looked like an Izumi. Mai said it was from one of her favorite stories as a child, something about a princess who turned into a dragon.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s so sweet, Zuko,” Katara said, readjusting Bumi on her hip. She bounced him slightly as they got closer. “Can you say ‘hi’ to Izumi?” Bumi, quiet once for his short life, reached out to pull at the blanket wrapped around Izumi. Katara grabbed his hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bumi, remember, she’s little like Kya,” Aang said. “You have to be gentle.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He scrunched up his nose. “Why can’t babies just be bigger?” </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>“Ambassador Sokka?” an Earth Kingdom ambassador questioned. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What’s his name? Okah? Pao? Lillel? There’s too many of them.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “May I ask why you have brought a baby in here with you?” Izumi was fast asleep in his arms, having been fed right before the meeting. Zuko thought it was best that she was held as much as possible so she got more than enough time to bond with both of them. That included during meetings with the other ambassadors. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s never too early to get started on your career,” he joked. Zuko kicked him under the table. Sokka tried not to wince, tried to stay nonchalant. The ambassador pursed his lips, tipping his chin up defensively. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m just worried, it will be a distraction from our meeting.” He skipped a beat. “Who’s child even is it? As far I’m aware, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you’re</span>
  </em>
  <span> unwed. So unless you have brought—” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The baby is Fire Nation Princess Izumi and Ambassador Sokka has agreed to hold her for me during this meeting,” Zuko said, giving the ambassador a pointed look. Sokka knew he was in love. “Now, unless you have an issue with </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> parenting, Ambassador Pao, I suggest you let this conversation drop.” The ambassador sat up straight in his chair, mouth slightly agape. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My apologies, Fire Lord Zuko,” Ambassador Pao said. “I hadn’t realized.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” Zuko looked at the rest of the council. “Does anyone have anything else they want to speak about before we start this meeting?” There was quiet for a moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think,” began another Earth Kingdom ambassador. Sokka was fairly certain that this one was Ambassador Okah. “I speak for all of us here when I say that it feels like you play favorites with Ambassador Sokka.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me?” Zuko said, staring at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It seems that you favor Ambassador Sokka over the rest of us.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka decided to cut in before Zuko really got a chance to respond. “Well, you’re right; he does. But also, did you hit him in the head with a boomerang at the age of fifteen?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excuse </span>
  <a href="https://youtu.be/UBgrsC6uHUk?t=23">
    <span>me?”</span>
  </a>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you break into and then out of a high security prison with Fire Lord Zuko?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No! Amb—” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then get used to it. He plays favorites because we’re actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>friends</span>
  </em>
  <span> outside of these meetings.” There was a stir among the rest of the attendees as the two ambassadors looked at each other and began talking furiously in a hush. Zuko quickly squeezed Sokka’s knee. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” he mumbled to Sokka. “But please, just let me handle it in the future.” Sokka just hummed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, let’s see if they dare bring it back up again.” </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>“Babe! Get in here!” Zuko yelled from the nursery. The sun had just risen over the horizon. “Babe!” If Sokka </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually</span>
  </em>
  <span> had a say in the matter, it was far too early in the morning to be awake, let alone out of bed. He understood that firebenders rose with the sun, but— “Sokka!” Sighing defeatedly, Sokka got up. It was </span>
  <em>
    <span>probably</span>
  </em>
  <span> important. Pulling on one of Zuko’s robes, he pushed open the door that divided their room from Izumi’s. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pa-pa!” Izumi cried happily at the sight of him. Sokka froze. He just stared at </span>
  <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CEhRRiflptR/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet">
    <span>Zuko</span>
  </a>
  <span> for a moment. It was </span>
  <em>
    <span>way</span>
  </em>
  <span> too early in the morning. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did—did she just say…?” he asked, feeling like he might not be fully lucid. Zuko just nodded with a smile. Izumi held her arms out to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“P-pa-pa,” she said again, still just as excited as he took her from Zuko. He felt like he was going to cry. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Zumi. You’re up early,” he said, really trying to keep it together. She smiled at him, pulling at his facial hair with her chubby, little fingers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pa-pa!” And it was enough to make Sokka cry. Zuko wrapped his arm around Sokka’s back, planting a kiss on his forehead. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve been teaching her how to say it every morning for the last week,” Zuko mumbled to him. “She got the whole thing for the first time today and I wanted to show you.” That did nothing to ease the tears filling Sokka’s eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Asshole, I was trying to get her to say ‘dada’ first,” Sokka grumbled, his head on Zuko’s shoulder. He wasn’t angry, just a little embarrassed to be crying like a baby over his kid saying her first word. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re joking,” Zuko said in disbelief. Sokka shook his head. Zuko laughed, planting another kiss on his forehead. </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>“Papa!” Izumi said from Zuko’s arms. Sokka glanced up from his notes at her. Her arms were outstretched towards him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh shit.</span>
  </em>
  <span> She had been asleep for the majority of the meeting. But now that she was awake, she was making her presence known. “Papa!” she repeated. Sokka could see nearly every pair of eyes trained on him or Izumi. She looked up at Zuko, “Wan Papa, Dada.” She had learned how to talk so quickly. Sokka was </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> proud of her, but this was an issue.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wordlessly, Zuko handed her over to Sokka and continued with the meeting. Everyone seemed to watch as Izumi giggled, patting Sokka’s cheeks. He gave her a smile, despite the fact that his heart was racing. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Diplomats don’t fight each other. It’s okay. We’re diplomats.</span>
  </em>
  <span> After a few moments, Zuko stopped, staring at everyone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is there a problem?” he asked. Sokka was sure he was feeling just as nervous as he was about the possibility of confrontation, but he wasn’t showing it. Zuko held his decorum well. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of course, Ambassador Okah of Gaoling </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> to say something. The man was </span>
  <em>
    <span>always</span>
  </em>
  <span> free with his opinions. “I think everyone is just curious as to why your child refers to Ambassador Sokka as… ‘Papa.’” Sokka saw a few people nervously glance between the ambassador and Zuko. Even after a decade and a half, some people still anticipated cruelty from anyone from the Fire Nation. Sokka bit his tongue to not just quip back at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry. Ambassador Okah, that’s really </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> important. We should just continue with the meeting,” suggested an ambassador from the Northern Tribe. Sokka really needed some of these people to wear a nametag. He wanted to thank her personally.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko held up a hand. “It’s alright, Ambassador Yone.” He turned his gaze back to the Earth Kingdom native. “Ambassador Okah, are you actually curious about my daughter’s speaking habits or were you just stating an assumption?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I’m actually curious, Fire Lord Zuko,” Okah challenged. Even Izumi seemed to sense the tension in the room, stopping her play with the beads in Sokka’s hair to look back up at Zuko. This didn’t shake Zuko’s calm demeanor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright,” Zuko said, sitting back down. “I’m sure you know that Princess Izumi’s mother died. Ambassador Sokka has been helping me with child care as I’m sure you’ve realized. She’s just little.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Or is it because you and Ambassador Sokka sleep together?” Okah asked. This is what finally made Zuko look shocked. Even Sokka was a bit flabbergasted that he would dare say anything. “She referred to you by a different name. And we </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span> know it. Your soulmate died and now you’ve turned to someone else.” Sokka clenched his fist under the table. He was ready to put Izumi on the ground and strangle him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is this about, Ambassador Okah?” Zuko growled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is about the fact that it seems you found a new lover within days of your wife dying,” he smirked. A strange calm settled over Zuko’s features.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ambassador Okah, you are no longer welcomed here in the Fire Nation Palace and you should leave immediately. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’ll</span>
  </em>
  <span> send a message back to Gaoling as to why you’ve been dismissed. But before you do, I want to make something clear to you. Fire Lady Mai was a dear friend of mine, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>she</span>
  </em>
  <span> was not my soulmate. Ambassador Sokka is.” There was a pause and moment where Zuko seemed to realize what he said. “Now, please show yourself out before I have you escorted.” Looking back up at the rest of the ambassadors in attendance, Zuko continued in a much friendlier tone, “I’m sorry. I think we should adjourn this meeting for today.” </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>“You didn’t have to tell him,” Sokka said later as he climbed into bed. Zuko just rolled his head over to look at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I did. Things are changing. I think it’s time that we’re… public about our relationship,” Zuko said, searching Sokka’s face for his reaction. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That may be true, but you didn’t have to tell </span>
  <em>
    <span>him,</span>
  </em>
  <span> specifically. You didn’t owe him the truth.” Zuko rolled his eyes, leaning Sokka’s head forward to place a kiss on his temple. Sokka wrapped an arm around him, pulling Zuko closer so that their chests touched. For a while, they stayed like that, their arms around each other, beginning to drift off to sleep. But there was a question gnawing at Sokka. “Hey, Zuko?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm,” Zuko hummed back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Would you want to get married?” Zuko pushed himself into a sitting position, looking down at Sokka wide-eyed. Sokka sat up as well. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Would you want to get married? We’ve been together for five years now. Would you want to?” Sokka felt like it was a simple enough question. But based on Zuko’s reaction, he wasn’t as sure. Cautiously, Zuko took Sokka’s hand, not meeting his eye. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Y-yeah, I think I do.” And he punctuated it with a kiss on Sokka’s cheek. </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>After a year and a half in the Fire Nation, Sokka almost felt </span>
  <em>
    <span>cold</span>
  </em>
  <span> back in the Southern Water Tribe. He had forgotten exactly how harsh the winds were and the constant presence of snow under his feet. His little village had grown so much from when he was a child. He got the feeling that if he stayed away any longer that it would be unrecognizable entirely. It was strange, not feeling familiar with a place you had called home for so long.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka?” a deep voice called. He looked up from his feet to search for it. It didn’t take long for him to spot its origin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bato!” he exclaimed, rushing forward to embrace the other man. To both of their surprise, Sokka was able to lift him with ease. Bato just laughed heartily as Sokka returned him to the ground. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve grown,” he commented, knocking Sokka’s hood back in an attempt to ruffle his hair. “What’s brought you back here?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want to talk to my dad about some stuff and figured it was time to come back.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bato hummed, jerking his head to one side as a way to tell Sokka to follow him. They wandered down what seemed to be the main road through the village now—if it could even be called that anymore. Sokka did his best to chit-chat with Bato, trying to not let on to his growing anxiety as they turned down corners and walked upstairs to where he assumed his dad was now living. Eventually, they reached a door that Bato opened without knocking. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have a surprise for you, Hakoda,” he said, blocking Sokka’s view in the doorway. As much as Sokka had grown, Bato was still taller than him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And what’s that?” At that moment, Bato stepped aside. “Sokka!” his dad said, standing up. Sokka was quick to lift him in a hug as well. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi, Dad,” he said, setting him back down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He lifted me too, if it makes you feel better,” Bato stated with a wry smile. His dad just laughed with a shake of his head. He was starting to go gray and there were a few new beads in his hair. Sokka really </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> been away for too long. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What brought you all the way down here?” he asked Sokka. “I’ve heard you’re hot shit up in Republic City now.” Sokka laughed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I guess I am,” he joked. “But there’s some stuff I wanted to ask you about.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh?” his dad said, raising his eyebrows. “Should Bato leave?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka shook his head. “No, are you kidding? Bato’s my second dad. I want his advice as much as yours.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fair enough,” Hakoda said with a small laugh, motioning for him to sit. As Sokka obliged, he continued, “So what’s on your mind?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, considering I’m almost twenty-eight, I figured I should tell you that Zuko and I are soulmates.” The statement visibly took his dad by surprise. Bato didn’t flinch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What did I tell you, Hakoda?” he muttered. His dad just brushed him off. Sokka continued before his dad could interrupt him too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That being said, I wanted to know if either of you know how to carve a betrothal necklace.” Sokka punctuated it with a sheepish </span>
  <a href="http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/avatar/images/7/76/Grinning_Sokka.png/revision/latest?cb=20140122221732">
    <span>smile.</span>
  </a>
  <span> Bato shook his head. His dad just looked like he was reeling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought Zuko married his soulmate,” he said eventually. Sokka shook his head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No. They got married because the Fire Sages were forcing Zuko to marry a woman.” He just blinked, struggling to </span>
  <a href="https://ih1.redbubble.net/image.517273412.0716/flat,550x550,075,f.u1.jpg">
    <span>process</span>
  </a>
  <span> that information. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you’re telling me that you brought your soulmate with you to break me out of prison?” Sokka laughed. He was a little surprised his dad even remembered Zuko was there. That felt like it had happened so long ago.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He insisted on coming. I didn’t purposefully bring him.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you still didn’t introduce him to me as your soulmate?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, because as it turns out, homosexuality was illegal in the Fire Nation up until…” He paused to do the math. “Six or seven years ago.” His dad just nodded for a while. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you’re getting married? And you want to make him a betrothal necklace? Isn’t that a northern tradition?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, yes, and yes,” Sokka said with a grin, leaning back in the chair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doesn’t Zuko have a child?” Bato asked from where he was standing with his arms folded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. Her name is Izumi and she calls me ‘papa,’” he answered, unable to stop himself from smiling. He was so excited to pick clothes out for her here in hopes he could bring her back with him one day. He wanted his dad and Bato to meet her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was that last part a joke?” His dad asked. Sokka shook his head, laughing a little. “When were you going to tell me I had another grandchild!?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just did!” Sokka chuckled. “Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if Katara and Aang keep having children.” The three of them laughed at that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is she a bender? Because I know a thing or two about fireproofing your house,” Bato joked. His dad gave him a quick whack on the arm. Sokka just smiled and shook his head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No. The Fire Sages have some test they do and said she isn’t a firebender.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, from experience, it’s a lot easier to raise a non-bender than a bender,” Hakoda quipped, a smile on his face and warmth in his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I tell Katara that?” Sokka asked with a laugh. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I’m sure she already knows.” The three of them laughed about it for a moment. “Well, I can’t help you with a betrothal necklace,” Hakoda said eventually. “But I’m sure we can figure something out.”</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>Zuko was asleep on the chair in the corner of the room, Izumi cuddled into his chest. Sokka felt his organs melt at the sight. His boat had docked well past sunset and he wasn’t surprised to find them both asleep. Planting a kiss on Zuko’s forehead, he lifted the nearly-two-year-old off of his lap. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Papa?” she asked, still mostly asleep. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shhh, go back to sleep, Zumi,” he whispered, laying her down in bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Papa, Izumi star fingers,” she mumbled, wiggling her fingers at him. He smiled, planting a kiss on her cheek.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure you do,” he told her. “You can show me tomorrow. It’s time to sleep.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, Papa,” she insisted, her eyes half closed. “Stars.” Sparks shot out from her pointer finger before a red flame lit. Sokka fell backwards. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh shit oh shit oh shit.</span>
  </em>
  <span> A second light was kindled as Zuko awoke. Sokka looked up at him, the flame from their toddler’s finger now gone. He hoped he didn’t look as shocked as he felt. The Fire Sages had told them that she didn’t have the spark of a firebender when she was born. They claimed the test was </span>
  <em>
    <span>always</span>
  </em>
  <span> right.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka?” Zuko asked, holding the fire in his palm closer to him. “Oh Agni, you’re back. What are you doing? It’s the middle of the night. Are you okay?” His flame went out in favor of dropping to the floor and hugging Sokka. Sokka hugged back, his brain trying to remember how to speak. He could see Izumi sit up and look at them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s a firebender,” Sokka said, instead of answering the questions like a normal person. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stars, Dada,” Izumi said, sparks shooting from her finger and a tiny flame flickering in and out of existence. Zuko handled that news </span>
  <em>
    <span>much</span>
  </em>
  <span> better than Sokka did. He smiled at her, getting up and sitting on the side of her bed. He held his hand out towards her, relighting the flame in his palm. It was smaller than Sokka was used to, delicate and fluttering. She reached out, touching it with her finger tips. After a moment, Zuko extinguished it, wrapping his hands over hers.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll show you more tomorrow,” he promised, placing a kiss on her forehead. “It’s time to go to sleep.” She nodded, giving him a peck on the nose. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“G’nih, Dada,” she mumbled, laying back down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Goodnight, Izumi,” Zuko whispered back. With that, he got up and joined Sokka in the doorway to their bedroom. “When did you get back?”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“About an hour ago. A lot of my bags are still just sitting out in the hallway,” Sokka answered with a shrug. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Make sure you get it before the staff finds it. I know you hate them touching your things,” Zuko commented, gently closing the door behind him. Sitting on the bed, Sokka scoffed a little, taking off his boots. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’d probably put it all in the wrong room too,” he added. Zuko chuckled, sitting next to him on the bed and planting a kiss on his temple. Smiling, Sokka cupped his cheek and brought their lips together. “Can I ask you about something?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course,” Zuko said, pulling back. “What is it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When did you realize why I’m your soulmate?” Sokka asked, rubbing his thumb under Zuko’s scar. Zuko just laughed a little. “I’m serious! I know we’ve talked about it before but I want to hear you say it again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When I caught you trying to sneak into a high-security prison on Appa,” he answered, placing his hand over Sokka’s. “For as much of a dumbass as you were… and still are—” Sokka laughed a little. “It made me appreciate how deeply you care for people and how driven you are.” He skipped a beat, just smiling at him for a moment. “What about you?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When you caught me from falling off the gondola at the Boiling Rock,” Sokka said with a laugh. “I had spent a few days learning how good of a team we made. But I realized just how thankful I was for you at that moment.” Zuko leaned in and kissed him softly. Sokka pulled back with a smile. “I have a surprise for you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko hummed. “Are you going to give it to me now, or make me wait for it?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you want it now?” Sokka asked with another kiss. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko pretended to think for a minute. “How good of a surprise is it?” Sokka laughed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I only have the best surprises,” he said, sliding off the bed and grabbing the package from under the bed. Zuko gave him a look. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why am I not surprised that you took the time to hide it?” he sighed, smiling slightly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, it’s not like we’re soulmates or anything,” Sokka quipped, setting the gift in Zuko’s lap. Gently, Zuko undid the wrappings, pulling back the paper to reveal the dark blades beneath. Wordlessly, he just stared at them for a moment before looking back up at Sokka. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sokka, where did you get these?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I made them,” he said with a smile. “I thought you’d like this better than a betrothal necklace… also because I couldn’t figure out how to make one.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko stared at him. “Betrothal necklace?” he asked in shock, glancing back down at the dao swords in his lap. “Is this—are you—?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah… yeah, I am,” Sokka smiled, giving him a quick kiss. “Will you marry me, Zuko?” They had come a long way in the last decade and a half. Sokka had been so angry when they had first met; he was so glad that he had been able to see past that and actually get to know Zuko. Two-hundred fifty-seven days, two hours, and two minutes felt so long ago for such a significant amount of time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zuko leaned in and kissed him again with a smile. “Of course, Sokka.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>just to make it clear, I have nothing against betrothal necklaces, I just think swords are cooler. I also have no idea how the Fire Nation does engagements and weddings so I guessed (with some research about Edo-period Japanese traditions)<br/>also I think we need to have more stuff with babies and toddlers and the Gaang being tired parents<br/>anyway, thank you for reading!! comments and kudos are appreciated</p></blockquote></div></div>
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